This study will explore for the differential effects of African-American mothers' child-rearing practices on their sons and daughters' achievement levels. In order to provide context to the research, this chapter presents a review of the pertinent literature.
The reviewed studies are covered in two broad categories: (1) research conducted on the effects of African-American mothers' child-rearing practices on their children's achievement irrespective of gender (the bulk of the existing research in the field); and (2) research related to differential child-rearing practices associated with differences in children's gender.
There have been a number of studies that examined those child-rearing practices of black mothers that are associated with strong achievement levels in children. One child-rearing characteristic that has been found to affect achievement is an interactive parenting style in which there is a good deal of verbal exchange between mothers and their children; this finding was reported by Blumenthal (1985) who found that cognitive development and subsequent school achievement in black children was highest when mothers had a verbally interactive style of parenting with their children.
In another study, Tassopulos (1982) conducted a regressional analyses of data collected to determine the relative influence of specific maternal variables and the family socioeconomic status (SES) on black children's reading achievement. Findings showed that achievement increased as mothers were more accepting of their children and as their expectations for the child's success grew more positive. It was also found that those mothers who were most likely to predict that their children would do well in school were also most likely to have children whose reading achievement levels were high.
Another child-rearing characteristic of African-American mothers that can affect their children's achievement levels concerns the value they ...